Writers Who Kill

Burning Bright by Nick Petrie: A Review by Warren Bull

Image by Matt Hearne on Upspalsh

As I said when I reviewed his first novel, it is always a pleasure to discover a new talented author and Nick Petrie is truly a find.

Nick Petrie follows The Drifter with his second novel Burning Bright, which he manages without the dreaded sophomore slump. Once again, the language is colorful, but not to the point of distracting from the plot.

 Peter Ash, a former Marine lieutenant, was sent on many combat missions. In this novel, he still has to deal with symptoms of PTSD. Uncomfortable in enclosed spaces, he has been on a long journey through the wild, avoiding people and civilization when a grizzly bear and a remarkable woman unexpectedly introduce him to a deadly game of hide and seek.

His decision to help the woman involves him with an elusive genius and a computer program that learns from experience. The program holds a skeleton key that can potentially unlock any security system in the world. Needless to say, many people and organizations of dubious origin would gladly kill for the program.

Petrie involves memorable characters from the first book and introduces new people I hope to learn more about as the series continues. I do not give spoilers in my book reviews, but I was pleasantly surprised when #### turned out to be #  #####. And the relationship between family members and lovers were believably described.

Like the first novel, I recommend this book highly. Apparently, a third book in the series is already out.